Ange Postecoglou provides fresh James Maddison and Micky van de Ven update ahead of Tottenham vs Everton

James Maddison and Micky van de Ven are ‘nowhere near’ returning to training with the Tottenham squad according to manager Ange Postecoglou ahead of their game against Everton this weekend.

The influential duo, signed from Leicester City and Wolfsburg respectively in the summer, instantly became key figures in Ange Postecoglou’s starting XI until injury struck in November.

Maddison suffered an ankle injury while van de Ven was forced off due to a hamstring injury and there had been growing optimism that both could return earlier than initially anticipated, but manager Postecoglou says that is hard to say at the moment.

He told reporters ahead of the weekend: "Hard to say. They're both in rehab and neither of them are anywhere near training with the first team at the moment. If you look at timelines, Micky and Madders did it in pretty much the same game. Micky might be just ahead of schedule in terms of Madders. Both kind of January and Bentancur are fairly similar. 

"It's not about trying to not give out information, these things kind of either accelerate or get delayed when you get into the final phase. Until I see them out with us, it's hard for me to say." 

The Lilywhites are also missing both midfielder Yves Bissouma and full-back Destiny Udogie due to suspensions but manager Postecoglou will hope they still have enough to record their third straight win that will see them jump ahead of Manchester City into fourth on the league table. Pep Guardiola's side won't play this weekend due to their involvement in the Club World Cup.